


Zootopia: Partners' Epilogues

by VariableMammal



Series: Zootopia: Partners [31]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi, Original Character(s), Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-07
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-07-22 02:24:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7415878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VariableMammal/pseuds/VariableMammal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of short stories about what's happening to the lives of the characters of Zootopia: Partners, up until ten years after the closing of the series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gideon Grey

**Author's Note:**

> Oops! Apparently a lot of you want a sneak peek into what's happening to the characters of my story "after the end", so how about several chapters explaining things like that? I hope you enjoy!

    Gideon Grey had a pretty good life. Why, just a year or so after Judy and Nick's wedding, which had made him tear up a little bit, he met his own special vixen. She was a red fox by the name of Veronica Denn, and to him she was prettier than a freshly-picked plum. They were wed and had children soon after. Two twins named James and John, and a little girl named Esther.   
  
    Once they were married, Veronica proved to be somewhat of a naggy wife. Gideon didn't know whether it was because he himself was so soft that he let her nag him, or if it was  _because_ he was soft that she nagged him. Either way, he did love her and she was sweet to him, as long as he was doing everything right.  
  
    Though of course sometimes it was hard to know what exactly "everything right" was; Gideon felt like it could change at any time.  
  
    Gideon remained the best pastry chef in the tri-burrows. He was quite humble about it and claimed there was no secret to his success, just good old-fashioned care and attention, and the produce from the Hopps' farm didn't hurt either. Though interviewers didn't often like writing stories about Gideon because he was kind of boring in his incredible humility, the editors of their publications would demand their stories, because Gideon had his fans. His fans were of course hungry for his pies, and the secrets thereof.  
  
    "How do you feel about being the top pastry chef in the tri-burrows?" The most popular question, of course.  
  
    "Aw, I ain't really that good, am I?" Gideon's answer was always humble and joined with a scratch to the back of his head. "There's really nothin' I do that's that special, anyhow. Just make pies n' cakes n' cookies n' stuff. Gladja like 'em."      
  
    "Do you feel like you'll retire any time soon?" This was a question that was levied at him quite often as well. Gideon would always just gently swipe a paw before he answered.  
  
    "I love bakin'," he'd begin, "It ain't really that stressful, it's relaxin', easy on the body. Heck, I figure I might as well be makin' pies 'till they put me in the ground."  
  
    Rather surprisingly, twelve or so years after the Hopps' marriage, there was a plot brewing to do just that. A small jealous fluffle of baker bunnies that was tired of losing every single bake-off to Gideon Grey banded together and decided to send him a message. The message was in the form of a really rotten pie shoved into his mailbox, with a note inside.  
  
    [RELEASE YOUR BAKING SECRETS AND RECIPES TO THE PUBLIC OR YOU WONT LIVE TO SEE THE NEXT FAIR] The message read. Gideon was terrified when he read the message, but he did notice that an apostrophe was missing in "won't". Didn't they teach kits anything in school these days?  
  
    Gideon of course was quite distressed and ready to give away his secrets and methods at the drop of a hat. His wife, naturally, scolded him heavily for this. "It ain't... nothin' I do ain't that special, Veronica! It ain't worth my pride before my life!"  
  
    "You think they won't just kill you anyway?" Veronica snapped. "You have to get the authorities involved, Gid! This ain't no jokin' matter!"  
  
    Fortunately for Gideon, and unfortunately for his enemies, the Bunnyburrow Sheriff's Department had a couple of rising stars. They were actually two of Judy's oldest cousins, a couple of cream-and-white bunnies that were slightly taller than her and both looked nearly precisely like each other, despite one being female and one being male. Their names were Peter and Carol Hopps.  
  
    Peter and Carol had quickly rose to notoriety in Bunnyburrow for their bad-buns, no-nonsense attitude. Though just a couple of bunnies, they had begun to strike fear into the hearts of small-time crooks all over Bunnyburrow. For their relentless efforts, their chief, Edward Hoofhands, had given them both rather ironic nicknames:  
  
    Peaches and Cream.  
  
    Rather than be insulted, the two Hopps gladly accepted their new monikers and refused to be called anything else on the job. Cream's interrogation technique was said to be terrifying. Her gritty and husky voice could make grown rabbit bucks pellet themselves. Peaches was taciturn and never said very much of anything, but he became legendary for his shooting skills. They said if you put a gun in his hand, whether it shot darts, stun charges, or rubber bullets, he'd never miss. At least, he would claim that. None of the criminals he put away had the fluff to claim otherwise.  
  
    "Looks like ol' Gideon Grey has gotten himself into a bit of trouble," Cream said, slinging a case file over to Peaches and sitting on his desk. Peaches read it, grunting, reclined back in his chair. "Don't sit right with me."  
  
    "Uh-uh," Peaches shook his head, his voice even more gravely than his sister's. "Ain't right. Innit a conflict a' interest, though? The Hopps n' the Greys is thicker'n soup."  
  
    "We're doin' the case anyway, Peaches," Cream said stonily. "Ain't our fault our uncle signed 'im on."  
  
    "Yes ma'am," Peaches got up and went to get their cruiser.  
  
    Peaches and Cream never, ever smiled on the job, or betrayed anything but contempt for the world around them. When they traced the rotten fruit of the warning pie to a pig's farm, the pig squealed literally and figuratively after only five minutes with Cream. The two greeted the culprits, planning their take-down of Gideon Grey, in an otherwise empty hay silo.  
  
    "Nobody move," Peaches warned. When everyone in the room did, Peaches was able to put his frighteningly quick tranquilizer dart reloading skill to good use, whipping them out one after another from a belt slung diagonally across his uniform. For her part, Cream did also hit her target with one. Peaches chewed on the straw he often had in his mouth.  
  
    "Sleepin' like kits," Cream remarked, but still, no smile. The two gave each other an emotionless high-five, and the unconscious bunnies were piled into their cruiser.  
  
    Other than that incident, Gideon Grey's life went by fairly peacefully. As his kits grew into adults, they started to become a bit restless. Esther wanted some land of her own, and the twins were fairly good with their hands, but weren't showing their fathers' talent for baking.  
  
    Little did the Grey family know that they would be getting a surprise fairly soon.


	2. The Three Foxes

    "Just move back home already, Vivian! We aren't going to be around for forever, then what'll happen to the Reddish Orchards?"  
  
    Every few months it was the same thing. Vivian's aging father kept trying to guilt trip her to come back to the Reddish Orchards in Bunnyburrow, where they had quite a famous name for themselves. They were a worthy, if much smaller, competitor to the Hopps Farm, at least where their fruit was concerned, anyway. However, not only did Vivian not really see herself as a farm vixen, she had her own reasons for staying away from her parents. Two reasons, in particular, that were very important to her.  
  
    Their names were Catherine Marengo and Avery Pawsfeld.  
  
    Vivian was polyamorous, and both of her parents held strictly traditional views when it came to relationships. She had actually messed up one night; her parents, dropping by her house unexpectedly, found out about Avery. This caused Catherine to have to flee from also being discovered as well. So, not only was pressure being put on her to go take up her family's orchards, but they heavily frowned upon her living with Avery without being married to him.  
  
    "Why don't you two get married, then?" Catherine shrugged, bluntly speaking her mind as she always did. "We could get tax benefits and your parents would be happy. It wouldn't have to mean anything, necessarily."  
  
    "I'd prefer to see you both in a dress, myself," Avery said sheepishly, imagining both of the vixens in his life in lovely, white dresses.  
  
    "I'm not getting married to anyone unless I can marry you both, and we all know that's not legal," Vivian grumbled in frustration. "And no, Cat, my parents are never going to be happy until I'm on their orchards with a doting husband and a belly stuffed with a kit or five."  
  
    "Oh come on," Catherine folded her arms, smirking. "You know your and Avery's kits would be adorable." Vivian showed her teeth briefly, which was a rare, but potent warning sign to Catherine.  
  
    "I'm not bringing kits into this world," Vivian said plainly. "I'm not going to have them bear the burden of their mother's eccentricities. I'm not going to have them be bullied for having three parents."  
  
    "Okay, okay, let's just calm down," Catherine said gently, holding her paws up in defense. Avery winced, not liking to see his mates fighting. "Maybe you should at least sign up Avery as a domestic partner, though." Vivian glared at her, but softened. Catherine was usually so excitable; how could she look at this from a more rational standpoint than Vivian could? Vivian was technically "in charge" of their dealings with the Reddish family, so she had the final say. They only rarely brought the subject up again.  
  
    On the more positive side, Catherine was having a lot more fun in her spare time now that Nick and Judy Wilde-Hopps knew of their relationship arrangement and accepted it, at least to some degree. Catherine loved sharing stories with them and really got into their chats. Nick and Judy found themselves over at Vivian's house more and more, filing her gray fox ears with their adventures and gossip. Nick wondered how much he really gained from uncovering the truth about Vivian's living arrangements, but Judy thought Catherine was quite fun to be around. Catherine had no censoring when it came to her words, or volume control, for that matter.  
  
    Once, Nick told Catherine a story that lasted for almost thirty minutes. Catherine sat with rapt attention the entire time, but when it came time for the story to end, Nick admitted that he had made the whole thing up. After he finally got Catherine to stop screaming to try to apologize, she yelled that she didn't care if the story was fake or not, that it was intriguing and she wanted to know the ending to it. When Nick revealed he hadn't thought that far ahead, the screaming continued, even louder this time.  
  
    Avery had finally found his style when it came to painting. He loved to paint natural settings, using more vivid colors than in nature and adding accents of other, contrasting colors, such as purple for accenting green leaves or grass. He managed to get some of his paintings into art shows and museums, but he was never more than a minor success, which didn't bother him. As it was he disliked showing up in person for signings or the like because often people would want to get pictures of him more than his art. He was a melanistic color morph of a red fox, called a silver fox, and a rather handsome one at that. Avery knew internally that he was unusual and interesting-looking, but he still only bore that "burden" for his mates. He felt a past shame when he rather easily made ends meet as a model.  
  
    The silver fox still was having a little bit of trouble fully accepting himself and his place in the world, but he was nearly there. Avery's father, who had left him soon after his mother died, was nowhere to be found and never tried reconnecting with him. Catherine's parents, on the other hand, reacted to finding out her situation with utter apathy. Catherine often joked that they wouldn't care if she ended up being a serial killer. With Vivian's parents to hide from and Catherine's to not care about, Avery didn't feel much drive to go find his own father. He felt like Catherine and Vivian were his family, and he loved them both very much.  
  
    After Vivian's father died, her mother became more desperate for Vivian to claim the Reddish Orchards.  
  
    "What will happen to them? What will happen to our long legacy? Vivian, you're the last of the Reddish line! Will our legacy really end here?"  
  
    Vivian assured her mother, on the latter's deathbed, that she would take care of the orchards. Surveying the land, though, she knew she couldn't do it. She couldn't live out in Bunnyburrow, where there were scant few mammals to see unless you went looking for them. She couldn't endure the long commute and ask both of her mates to take long periods of time without her. She wanted to observe and chat with mammals, not tend to unfeeling trees and bushes.  
  
    "I have to sell the orchards," Vivian confessed to Nick and Judy. "I don't suppose you'd know of any interested parties?"  
  
    "I think the Hopps Farm is big enough," Judy chuckled. "Pretty soon Bunnyburrow would be taken over by the Hopps Empire."  
  
    "Maybe I have something," Nick looked on his phone, "Gideon Grey's kits are all grown up and looking for a farm."  
  
    "Surely they couldn't afford a prestigious orchard like the Reddish's?" Judy pondered aloud.  
  
    Vivian shrugged. "I could give them a good deal."  
  
    The deal was proposed, and while still pricey, the Grey kits, James, John, and Esther, were giddy with the prospect of having an orchard they could have to their own. They figured it would be great to provide their father fruits from their own labors and wean him from his dependence on the Hopps farm. Meeting with a certain weasel financial advisor, they secured a loan and bought the orchards from Vivian. And just like that, the "color" drained from the Reddish name. The legacy was now the Grey's.  
  
    Sometimes Vivian was struck with bouts of melancholy while she was alone at her frozen fruit stand in the midst of Mezzo Park. She was the last Reddish and it was likely to stay that way. But, in some ways, she felt like a criminal. From her family, she had taken one of their houses, the one in Zootopia, the seven golden, gem-tipped rings that were her birthright, and a tidy sum of income from selling the orchards. She felt a compunction while she tried to rationalize her actions.  
  
    Vivian felt like a thief, almost. She took what she wanted from her family and tossed the rest away. Though it was legally hers to do with what she willed, she knew that if the concept of a Vulpine Afterlife was even close to true, her parents would be infuriated at her, looking down at her both metaphorically and metaphysically.  
  
    "Well, here I am," Vivian said, staying at her stand way later than she normally did one night so she could greet the stars with her arms open. "Once I get past you two, I'll be at peace. I'm happy with my two mates and my the way I'm living my life. But you still made me feel guilty for who I am and what I wanted to do, for my whole life. I never came clean, even on your deathbeds. What would it have helped? You'd just meet eternity with hate in your hearts. No, I think sometimes you do have to keep secrets. Even if the only real secret I kept was that I was truly happy."  
  
    Though portraits weren't his strong suit, Avery eventually painted one of Vivian, and one of Catherine. The two were enchanted; he used his signature style to make them look almost ethereal, and brightly-colored besides. They had almost convinced him to paint one of himself as well to complete the "collection". He'd get there, eventually, he assured them.  
  
    Vivian took a look into her small treasure chest that contained the seven golden rings she inherited. She almost felt like she didn't deserve them, but she had remembered so long ago when Nick and Judy came into her life, they had helped find the rings and gone through so much trouble to do so. She had been afraid of wearing them for so long, and for various reasons. But, she decided to wear the ruby ring, the "reddish" one. She hoped she would feel less guilty, in time, by doing so. Catherine liked the look of the yellow topaz ring, and Avery favored the violet amethyst one.  
  
    "Maybe we should get four more, huh?" Catherine joked. "We still have four rings, after all."  
  
    "Oh, hush," Vivian rolled her eyes. She really hoped she had learned something concrete from all this, but she had to admit that she didn't really know. She did know, however, that as she and Catherine had been there many times for Avery when he was dealing with his own inner troubles, that Avery and Catherine would be there for her both physically and emotionally while she dealt with hers. It was nice to be loved in that way.  
  
    Speaking of learning, however, a particular peculiar chinchilla had made it his goal to teach in Zootopia's schools. He didn't realize, though, that he too had some things to learn.


	3. The Chilla Chapter

    Chet "the Chilla" Chilla was a gray-furred chinchilla who always exuded an aura of utter coolness. He talked in a strange, dated style, and his airy, flippant voice made his listeners think nothing got to him and that he was totally "chilla" about everything. College was going to be an easy fit for him. Or so he thought, anyway.  
  
    It turned out that the facade of being a "frat-boy" type didn't actually mesh up well against the real deals. Zootopia University was a bit of a party school, and while Chet did like parties, he preferred smaller events with close friends to giant fur-to-fur parties with impossibly loud music. He surfed the party scene, trying to find a group of mammals he fit in with. It also didn't help that he actually wanted to do well in college to expedite his dream of becoming a teacher, a mammalian language arts teacher, if possible.   
  
    Unfortunately for Chet, it was just a different atmosphere, and he didn't hold as much social strength as he did in his lesser schooling. No one really paid much attention to his tricks, which he busted out on occasion to try to break the ice. It was pretty challenging to break dance as a chinchilla; maybe they just rolled their eyes at his efforts because they knew they couldn't contribute? Also, there was always a lot of alcohol at the parties. Chet couldn't stand alcohol. The smell, the taste, and especially how it made people act.   
  
    Chet acquired some acquaintances in college, but no one he'd considered a close friend. He was about to give up on the party scene altogether when he saw one chinchilla that changed his mind. Well, to be more precise, he  _heard_ her first. It was a karaoke night at the party and a really energetic and shockingly gorgeous voice drew Chet over to the area to watch and listen to her. He was surprised to see that she was a chinchilla with bright, light-blue eyes. He decided to continue to attend this group's round of parties.  
  
    It became extremely obvious to his acquaintances before long that Chet was crushing pretty hard on the chinchilla, who was named Celeste Puftuft. Chet made every excuse to see her, hear her sing, and even talked to her a few times. Celeste's non-singing voice was quite pleasant too, and she seemed like a fun, easy-going girl.  
  
    "Dude, ask her out!" His fellows would say playfully, shoving him.  
  
    But he couldn't bring himself to. There was one big problem, to him, about Celeste. She had white fur. Now, Chet never mentioned to his acquaintances  _why_ this was actually a problem for him, but he did, under duress, once tell one of his "friends" that her having white fur was off-putting to him. Chet began to feel anxious about it; he knew that Celeste likely had the eye of every chinchilla at Zootopia University, and probably several other rodents, or even mustelids or slightly larger animals. He thought she was  _that_ attractive. One evening, the heady atmosphere of the party was getting to him. He didn't like how some wild parties made him feel like he was part of a liquid, waving furry machine. It made him a little sick to his stomach, actually.  
  
    He exited the recreational center out the back, where the pool was, trying to catch his thoughts.  
  
    Okay Chilla, he thought to himself. She's great. This is  _your_ problem. Just ask her out, there's no problem with _her_ , just-  
  
    Chet's thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of being shoved, and the chilly splash of suddenly being submerged in the pool. He got out of the water, gasping for air. When he turned, he saw Celeste standing at the edge of the pool with her hands on her hips.  
  
    "So that's it, huh?" Celeste said, her whiskers twitching in irritation. " _That's_ why you haven't asked me out!? Because I have _white fur_?"  
  
    "Ah, fluff..." Chet groaned, trying to get himself out of the water. He felt like he weighed twice as much while he was sopping wet. He got out of the pool and confronted her, his fists balled, shivering a little. Chinchillas did not look flattering when they were wet.  
  
    "I knew there was something off about you," Celeste narrowed her eyes. "You act like you're cool, but there was always something a bit weird about you. You don't drink, you back out of parties when they get too loud, and it turns out you're just a big idiot who can't date anyone who doesn't share his fur color."  
  
    "Y-you're right, Celeste, I'm an idiot," Chet nodded, shivering. Celeste was taken aback; the way he said it gave her pause. She got him a towel and threw it at him. Chet wrapped himself in it.   
  
    "Here, so you don't look so pathetic," Celeste folded her arms. "Tell me why, though. What reason could you have for being this way?"  
  
    "I'm not going to tell you why," Chet said in a rather heavy voice. "I barely know you."  
  
    "Yeah, and you aren't gonna  _get_ to know me if you keep acting like this!" Celeste challenged. "I wanna know what makes you tick. You're... interesting. Different."  
  
    "You remind me of my mom," Chet said vaguely.  
  
    "Oh wow, is that the type of competition I'm dealing with?" Celeste rolled her eyes.  
  
    "My mom 'won' me from the custody battle following my parents divorce, like I was some kind of prize," Chet said, his voice completely devoid of its normal flavor. He didn't know why, but he couldn't stop himself from talking. Celeste's eyes widened. "I did most of the chores, she never much felt like doing anything if she had a child to delegate everything to. Her job stressed her out, and she'd calm her nerves with alcohol, a lot of it. She wasn't a kind drunk, either. She'd take books, my books, and beat me with them." Chet felt so hollow at the end of this admission. He wanted to feel relief, maybe even hurt Celeste a bit with his words. But he just felt empty, and Celeste looked like she didn't want to say anything.  
  
    "Oh, uh..." Celeste fumbled. Chet tried to dry himself off a bit more.  
  
    "Just your average damaged chinchilla," Chet said. "No big. Just have to fight not to be anything like her. That's all. That's why I won't touch the bottle. And that's why white-furred chinchillas... heh. I know it doesn't make any sense. And I don't really want any pity, either. So I dunno why I even said anything."  
  
    "I um..." Celeste stammered. "Listen, Chet. I'm not so good with words. I have no clue what to say." She managed a tiny smile. "I do know how I can make it up to you, though."  
  
    "Go on a date with me?" Chet tilted his head, managing a bare smirk as well.  
  
    "Well sure, but I meant right now," Celeste grinned wider. Chet felt a shot of panic through his nerves, but Celeste just closed her eyes and unceremoniously hopped in the water herself. Chet gave a small gasp, and Celeste laughed, getting out of the water. "J-jeez! That's cold... I'm shaking like a l-leaf!" Chet handed her a towel, and both wrapped up, they sat on the side of a long pool chair and just talked with each other. That went on for over an hour.  
  
    Their first date was to be held at one of the beaches of Sahara Square. Chet was sure to pack his sunglasses, because his eyes usually said a lot about what he was thinking, and he knew they'd probably be darting to Celeste quite a lot. But sunglasses couldn't hide his jaw dropping as soon as he saw Celeste. Not because she was in a swimsuit, though that was nice too, but because her fur had been dyed a light pink.  
  
    "How do I look?" Celeste asked lightly, giving a twirl. Chet was speechless, but he did start to sob a little. "O-oh." Celeste gave a guilty smile, trying to think of something to change his mood. "Am I so hot you're moved to tears?"  
  
    "W-why'd you do it...?" Chet managed to get out.  
  
    "Always wanted to try it," Celeste laughed. "So it's not for you, it's for me, okay?"  
  
    "Sure..." Chet gave a wobbly giggle. He didn't quite believe her.  
  
    It was perhaps the hardest thing he had to drill into his head through his whole college experience. The dye was temporary, but once it was gone, Celeste was still the same chinchilla. She was a chinchilla he was really starting to fall for, and he told her so.  
  
    They were married soon after both of them finished college. Larry Wilde-Hopps, Chet's best friend, was there, of course. Chet wanted him to be his best mammal, which he accepted, though Chet called him "best brody". Celeste had also convinced Chet to hire a guard for the wedding, in case his mother tried to crash it. She did, but thankfully the two were unaware of that. Rinn Chilla may have been enraged, but that wasn't going to get her past a hippo.  
  
    "Dude, brody, it's been too long!" Chet said, giving Larry a small hug. "Tell me what's going on with yourself!"  
  
    "C'mon, 'the Chilla'," Larry rolled his eyes. "Don't spare me a thought on your big day."  
  
    "That's not fair, dude," Chet laughed. "I wanna know!"  
  
    "Gimme another year or so," Larry gave a soft chuckle. "And I'll probably talk your ear off."  
  
    "Aright bro, I'm holding you to that!" Chet gave him a serious face and pointed at him.   
  
    Chet rather easily secured a job teaching middle school Language Arts, as Zootopia was pretty hard up for teachers at that time. The faculty, especially the "old guard", was rather contemptuous of Chet's easy-going nature and eccentric teaching style, but the children loved him. Chet brought an energetic, passionate approach to his classroom, as he was genuinely interested in words, their functions, meanings, how you could "mutate" them, and while his methods baffled some kits, others were enthralled. More than a few mammal-on-mammal collisions occurred just outside his classroom from rodents and mustelids rushing to get inside.   
  
    It must have been some sort of curse someone had placed on him at some point, Chet mused.  
  
    He and Celeste lived in a "cozy" apartment at Pangolin Arms. Chet would often come home to her lovely singing voice, as she was practicing to try to break into the music scene, herself. The walls in Pangolin Arms were paper thin, but no one ever seemed to complain when Celeste just randomly belted out into song. She did, of course, keep it to daylight hours.   
  
    She was also a rather silly and carefree chinchilla, and pulled several pranks on Chet. One of her most infamous was drawing a black mustache on him with fur dye when he failed to wake up on time. Chet chuckled when he saw what his wife had done to him, and so did his students once he got to class. Thus encouraged, Celeste loved interacting with him like this, sometimes giving him silly hats to try to get away with at school.  
  
    "It's honestly like he's still a student!" One older female chinchilla snapped in irritation to a male weasel teacher when they saw him walking down the hallway in a comically large sombrero.  
  
    "Maybe that's why the kits like him?" The weasel replied.  
  
    And they did like him, both his unpredictable nature, and his passion for teaching the subject he loved.   
  
    "So that's all I'm up to," Chet admitted to Larry. The two had met at a coffee shop. Both drank decaffeinated coffee, of course, as it was often dangerous, in a non-medical way, to caffeinate a rodent. "What about you?"  
  
    "So you never watch any of my races?" Larry gave a small smirk, sipping his coffee.  
  
    "I _try_ , Lares, really I do!" Chet groaned. "My eyes glaze over when I try to pay attention to all those cars moving on those winding tracks..."  
  
    "So what color is Celeste now?" Larry deflected Chet's intended topic.  
  
    "Eh, just some random aqua markings," Chet shrugged. "I think she still likes being pink best- hey! C'mon Larry, gimme the goods!"  
  
    "Maybe I'll just wait to write a book," Larry chuckled, "I know how much you like books."  
  
    "Oh come _on_!" Chet threw his hands in the air. "At least give me a summary!"  
  
    "If you insist," Larry laughed, relenting.


	4. Sinistral Squirrel

    Larry Wilde-Hopps. Son of Nick and Judy Wilde-Hopps, the famous police officers. Legendary gray squirrel racer.  
  
    At least, the last part was what he had hoped. Larry was picked up quickly after he got his motor racing license by the Southpaw Laundry Detergent Company. This coincidentally suited Larry just fine, as he was left-handed. Through his first year or so of racing in the Tiny Racing League, Larry was barely average as a racer, despite his enthusiasm. He had begun to feel like he was only chosen to fill a slot, as Southpaw had representatives in the other major Racing Leagues, and seemed desperate for a new one. Larry was fearful that he might even lose his sponsorship after the first year.  
  
    However, Larry had to swallow his fears when he was called in by the company to do a photo shoot with some of his counterparts. Southpaw needed advertisement shots for their products. The other representatives were all, of course, much larger than him, some ridiculously so. Among them, the largest was George Rhinostone, a rhinoceros in the Huge Racing League, and a cheetah in the Speed Racing League who went by the impossibly-cool nickname "Trace Laser". Trace had been with Southpaw the longest, and was considered a veteran racer even though he was only in his mid-thirties. George was in his late twenties, but you'd never know that by his super deep and gravelly voice.  
  
    "Whoa," Larry marveled after George introduced himself. "Hey, haven't I heard you somewhere before? Were you a character in New Super Bash Bunnies?"  
  
    "I was!" George gave a hearty chuckle, and even that sounded like it had some malice behind it. "But I don't think I'll be his voice actor for the next one; it's too expensive for those guys for me to get into character." He gave a little chuckle. Larry was about to ask him what he meant, but the photo-shoot began. George often had to hold up Larry with one hand to be the right height for the shoots, and Larry felt a bit nervous to be the newbie alongside these other racing legends. They eventually broke for lunch, and the three sat together.  
  
    Trace was rather standoffish of the new, unpromising squirrel, but George seemed very interested in talking to him and getting to know what his life was like. Larry was surprised at how friendly and warm the rhino was, because his intimidating look and voice spoke only gruffness to him. He even tried to look intimidating in his photo-shoots, with malicious smirks and dangerous angles. George easily wrung out Larry of his story and upon doing so, Trace seemed to soften somewhat.  
  
    "I dunno if I'm going to make it here," Larry admitted, "I'm just not that good; not like you guys."  
  
    "Listen, kit," Trace said. Larry's eyes widened; he wasn't expecting an Outback Island accent from the cheetah. "You don't necessarily have to be good, ahroit? What you need is a gimmick, like George and I."  
  
    "What do you mean?" Larry inquired. Trace removed his deep-green tinted glasses to show his similarly-colored eyes underneath.  
  
    "It don't have to be anythin' too special," Trace went on. "I go by Trace Laser. In all of my press conferences I wear these green-tinted glasses, or somethin' loik 'em. My racing helmet has the same colored visor. The color of a green laser. Lasers are pretty fast, roit?"  
  
    "As fast as anything can be," Larry nodded. "How'd you come up with that?"  
  
    "Wasn't that hard," Trace laughed. "Just always liked the color. Had to wear glasses when I was a kitten, figured I'd try to look fetchin' as well. Then, before I started racing, I had laser eye surgery. All just koinda came together for me."  
  
    "Sorry if this is rude," Larry narrowed his eyes, "but how'd you get an Outback Island accent?"  
  
    "Well, we have one thing in common, little kit," Trace smirked, "we're both adopted. Was immediately dropped off at an adoption center when I was a newborn. Adopted by a great pair of wallabies. Legal name is Tracy Wallabean. Got the feelin' my birth mother wanted a girl, perhaps?" Larry absorbed this, his jaw dropping a bit in wonder. He then turned to George.  
  
    "What's your gimmick, then?"  
  
    "It's even simpler than Trace's!" George laughed. "I just get uh, really excited during the Huge Racing League. You know we get to crush junk cars while we're racing, right?" Larry nodded. "Well, I kind of really like breaking things. Always have. My sister's sandcastles, my brother's building block structures. Kind of an embarrassing habit for a rhino to have." He chuckled deeply. "But I can let it all out on the track, really get a good belly laugh going. Some people wanted to call me Wreck-It Rhino, but we obviously can't use that one for legal reasons." Larry gave a soft chuckle; he liked that movie.  
  
    "Yeah, all you need is somethin' to make you stand out from the pack," Trace agreed, "then you'll find yourself some fans. Hopefully that'll keep you around."  
  
    With the vote of confidence, Larry tried to make himself stand out on the track, but he really couldn't think of a good idea. He felt like just an average squirrel with a youthful face and a heaping load of inexperience. After his girlfriend Kara's first year of college, however, the two met up for a little while during her vacation, and during Larry's next race, he drove rather aggressively and riskily. He took corners around the serpentine curves of the tracks like he never had before, and he finally won his first race. The crowd went both figuratively and literally nuts, tossing peanuts, cashews, and pecans up in the air as the heretofore mediocre squirrel took away an upset over other favorites.  
  
    Without thinking, Larry did a sort of flippant almost-salute with his left hand as his right arm held his first trophy. This became a bit of a trademark with him, and Southpaw loved it as well because it tied in with their "left-pawed" branding. Larry's pit crew would give him this loose-fingered salute when they finished with his bright blue car, and he would salute when he edged into first place, won a race, or during his interviews. He'd finally gained a gimmick.  
  
    However, his capricious racing style wasn't something he could summon just at whim. He really needed visits with Kara to bring up his excitement level. His wildly varying performance actually got him a few fans, though, as it was exciting to them every time he pulled off a win. Larry would get interviewed more often, and the reporters were trying to give him a more marketable name.   
  
    "Angel in the interviews, demon in the driver's seat." That one didn't catch on, as it was too cumbersome.  
  
    "The Squealing Squeak." A bit generic; it was soon dropped, as well.  
  
    "The Detergent Daredevil." Southpaw themselves proposed this one, but it didn't get anywhere.  
  
    "Sinistral Squirrel." This one finally stuck. His cocky, left-handed salute when he snatched victory away from another rodent was becoming famous, and even his fans in the audience would perform it. He got the reputation as a bit of a "heel" racer, even though he was a nice guy, but Larry didn't mind. He was having a lot of fun.  
  
    As he found his groove and garnered more fans, he had a couple of scares. Not from driving accidents, though he did get into a few scrapes and a mild crash or two every now and again, but from females. One was from a charming fox squirrel on his pit crew. Larry had lunch with her at times before abruptly realizing the lunches could easily be seen as dates. She did look quite saddened when he told her the two should keep things professional, but she agreed with him and the two remained friendly.   
  
    Another incident happened with an unscrupulous gray squirrel reporter, whom Larry accepted a "private" interview from naively, not realizing she worked for an infamous tabloid. Her questions got uncomfortably probing, and when Larry started dodging most of them, she put the moves on him herself, which caused Larry to panic and flee. Angered, the reporter tried to cause a media backlash with Larry's uncertain relationship status.  
  
    "'The Sinistral Squirrel, into males'?" George read from a tabloid he brought into their next photo shoot.  
  
    "Huh?" Larry blinked. "Where did they get that from?"  
  
    "Something about you rejecting the advances of 'several' female squirrels," George chuckled. "Did you cheese off a reporter?"  
  
    "I don't think so..." Larry considered. "There was this crazy reporter who came onto me, but I got away from her."  
  
    "Ugh, that'd do it," Trace groaned. "And they've got skilled lawyers protectin' their tails from all sorts of allegations, so you probably couldn't even go after them for misinformation."  
  
    "To me, male or female doesn't even matter," George chuckled. "I just want a large mammal I can cuddle with." Larry gave an amused, impressed huff at this.  
  
    "You an' I are cursed with our boyish good looks," Trace gave a friendly nudge to the gray squirrel with the back of his hand. "I've had more than a few brainless cheetah girls throw themselves at me. But I think I'll meet the roit one sometime."  
  
    "To tell the truth, I'm in love with a ferret girl," Larry shrugged. Both George and Trace looked surprised.  
  
    "Well, don't let anyone know, ahroit?" Trace suggested. "Unless you want it all ovuh the news."  
  
    "Yeah, I intend to keep it from the media," Larry nodded. "My fox dad has inadvertently taught me all kinds of lessons about keeping your feelings secret." The squirrel chuckled.  
  
    Once Kara finished her schooling, she was able to spend a bit more time with Larry, which had a directly positive impact on his racing performance. He steadily became better until he was just an all-around good racer. Ironically, this made his popularity take a hit as his consistency rose. So, he had to channel his "character", the Sinistral Squirrel, to win his fans back, adding more daring moves and unpredictability to his racing, which ended up working well. Larry was quite happy with his how racing career was going, and his fellow Southpaw sponsors and his pit crew were making pretty good friends with him.  
  
    Though there were precious few who knew about Larry's relationship with Kara Pedshark, a small number actually did. A couple of small mammals in particular, one of whom had a vested interest in the seemingly random fortune he found early on in his racing career. 


	5. Two Little Princesses

    Going to college was basically just a formality for Judie Big, granddaughter of Mr. Big. She knew she'd eventually be wrapped up in the relatively comfortable life of a mafia princess, but she wanted to do some soul-searching to determine if she wanted to try grabbing the reins at all. The shrew had enrolled in Zootopia University under the name "Judie Smalls".  
  
    By sheer chance, her dorm mate happened to be Kerry Princess Weaselton, a brown weasel who was studying to become a financial advisor. She wanted to have a legitimate job for herself and not be under the chance and questionable legality of the type of activities her father, Duke Weaselton, engaged in.  
  
    Ironically, Judie and Kerry felt like they learned more from each other than their college classes. Judie was great with numbers, and she often helped Kerry with her assignments when she was frustrated or tired. Meanwhile, Kerry would frequently brag about how easily she could read people in the college and filled Judie's ears with gossip. Who was getting together, who would be breaking up, who was becoming prominent in the party scene. Judie grinned inwardly when she took up this information; the shrew thought learning how to read and manipulate mammals would serve her well if she tried to make her own name in the Big family.  
  
    The two became platonically inseparable, and were like a tag-team of trouble. Kerry's words could cut deep, so no one tended to mess with either one of them. Judie was amused that she was "protected" by Kerry. If she had let anyone know who exactly  _she_ was, they would have kept an even wider berth.  
  
    Judie remained a big fan of the Tiny Racing League, and watched races whenever she could get away with it. She recognized Larry from a chance encounter right before both of them graduated high school, and tended to root for him.  
  
    "Aw, Larry, eighth place?" Judie chuckled as one race concluded early in his career. "Ya gonna have ta do better than that!"  
  
    "Larry?" Kerry walked up to the television in interest. "Larry Wilde-Hopps? Huh! He did make it onto the track after all." She put her hands on her hips.  
  
    "Ya know Larry, then?" Judie asked in curiosity.  
  
    "Know him?" Kerry flicked her paw in the air. "I went to both middle school  _and_ high school with him. I should be asking you how the heck  _you_ know him!"  
  
    "Chance meeting," Judie shrugged. "He was bummed about graduating for some reason."  
  
    "Ah, that'd be because his girlfriend moved away to go to Pawprintsteen University in the Northwest," Kerry explained. "He's such a goober for her."  
  
    "She must be a noice squirrel; he was really bummed that day," Judie offered.  
  
    "Oh no, she's one of  _my_ best friends actually, a ferret," Kerry smirked.  
  
    Judie blinked. "No way?"  
  
    So, that type of gossip prevailed between the two, and Judie learned more about Larry and Kara. The day Larry won his first race, both "princesses" were beside themselves.  
  
    "He won! Ha HA!" Judie pumped one of her fists.  
  
    "Ah, Larry, you dope!" Kerry tossed her head back in laughter. "I bet it's because Kara's on break and just went to visit him. Fueled by a ferret, what a _male_ , am I right?"  
  
    "Ya don't say!" Judie stroked her chin thoughtfully. Judie had Kerry keep her informed of the next time the ferret was in Zootopia. She looked up the schedule for the next race, and thought up a fairly simple plan.  
  
    Judie never went anywhere dangerous without her own personal bodyguard polar bear, Nathan. He carried her into a shady betting establishment, where he, with his other hand, produced a tiny fortune that Judie had managed to squeeze out of her father.  
  
    "Alla this, on Larry Wilde-Hopps, to win it," Judie said dangerously. "First place."  
  
    "You think you're hot fluff, little girl?" The boar bookie said, looking at Larry's wild odds because of his inconsistent performance. "Alright, it's your funeral."  
  
    "It'll be yours if you don't show me some respect," Judie snarled. "It's Little Miss Big, to you." A few mammals in the establishment gasped. The bookie looked over the unfriendly-looking polar bear who was holding Judie, and suddenly remembered the legacy of the Big family.  
  
    "Er, yes, Little Miss Big, as you say, all of that on Larry," the boar nodded, scooping up the money.  
  
    Judie made out like a bandit that day. Larry had taken first, and Judie took a substantial sum of money back to college, but not before bragging to her family about how good she was getting at reading people. She hoped to find a commanding role in the Big family.  
  
    "Here ya go," Judie handed a wad of bills over to Kerry, who's eyes bugged out. "Buy yaself somethin' noice."  
  
    "What's all this from!?" Kerry blinked in astonishment.  
  
    "Can't tell ya," Judie grinned.  
  
    "You're killing me, Smalls," Kerry shook her head, "well uh, why do I deserve it, then?"  
  
    Judie chuckled haughtily. "Why, for bein' my 'financial consultant', of course."  
  
    After their college education had concluded, Judie had Kerry meet her alone one evening at Mezzo Park.  
  
    "What's this about, Judie?" Kerry asked with a hint of unease.  
  
    "A business proposal," Judie said smugly, "I want you to be my right-hand weasel. We complete each other. You're great with manipulating people, and I'm good with numbers. You need my help, and I need yours. I'd like ya to become a part of my family."  
  
    "Uh!?" Kerry flinched. "Um, I told you I'm not like that, Judie. We're just friends."  
  
    "Great friends," Judie nodded. "We should work together. I should tell you, my names not Judie Smalls, It's Judie BIG."  
  
    "Oh..." Kerry's eyes widened and her pupils shrank as she felt a jolt of fear in her tummy. She recalled a story her father had told her about how he nearly lost his life to Mr. Big.  
  
    "So whaddaya say?" Judy smirked.  
  
    "I, uh," Kerry poked her fingers together, "I've tried my whole life to keep my nose clean, to prove I could make it without resorting to being a petty crook like my dad..."  
  
    "Psh, ya wouldn't just be a  _petty_ crook," Judie grinned, "you'd be a part of one of the most infamous criminal organizations in Zootopia! You can still have your little legit job as a financial advisor or whatever." She flicked her wrist. "It'd make a great cover!"  
  
    "I guess I have no choice, then," Kerry said nervously, her heart pounding in fear. "You've told me all this; you'd have to kill me if I said no..."  
  
    "Me? Nevah," Judie looked shocked, putting her hands to her chest. "I'd only have to kill you if you did something stupid, like reveal who I was to anyone else." She winked. "You've made me a lot of money with your analytical weasel eye, Kerry. I ain't gonna bump ya off that easy."  
  
    "Oh!" Kerry quickly spun it through her head how Judie could have been making money off of knowledge that she provided.  
  
    "C'mon..." Judie grinned. "It'll be a blast. I promise ya!"  
  
    "Oh, sure," Kerry grinned. "I have to say, getting the chance to manipulate mammals at that high of a level is rather appealing..."  
  
    "Now we're talking!" Judie laughed. "Nathan, Tony! Get out here." Kerry flinched in fright as two large polar bears came from behind some trees and lumbered over towards them.  
  
    "Wh-who are these guys?" Kerry cringed.  
  
    "Well, Nathan's mine," Judie said as the polar bear in question picked her up. "Tony'll be yours. We gotta protect our assets."  
  
    "W-whoa, I get my own _bodyguard_?" Kerry marveled as Tony gently lifted her in his cupped hands.  
  
    "Ain't loif grand?" Judie cackled.  
  
    The news of Kerry's double life eventually reached the Weaseltons, and her mother was both terrified and furious. But when she confronted Duke about this, he just clutched at his chest with pride and sighed.  
  
    "Ah, she's daddy's little girl..."  
  
    Judie continued to make a good deal of money at the betting establishments. Since no one else seemed to be able to read when Larry would do well except for Little Miss Big, Larry also  _cost_ a lot of people money. Judie would occasionally overhear talk about frustrated bettors wanting to make Larry "have an accident". Mysteriously, these mammals ended up vanishing, one way or another. Besides Larry, there was another that Judie was confident enough to bet on. She was a bit tougher to read than Larry, but with Kerry's help, she still made money off of her.


	6. Fox Ice Cream Joint

    Heather Mine headed into the "creatively" named Fox Ice Cream Joint which was, surprisingly enough, an ice cream parlor run by foxes. She groaned; the door had felt so heavy to her. She'd just finished with her strenuous exercise regime. She knew she probably didn't have to work herself so hard for college-level pawball, but she figured there was no point in giving it any less than her best.  
  
    She headed to the smallest register, where a smug looking fennec fox wearing pastel and white colored clothes greeted her. Heather looked at his name tag. A fennec named "Finnick". This place was just full of "surprises".  
  
    "What can I get you?" Finnick asked her in his extremely deep voice.  
  
    "Think I'll have a small-size double scoop of vanilla, with sprinkles," Heather looked over the menu. The cool, sweet treat would be just the refreshment she needed.  
  
    "Vanilla?" Finnick scoffed, raising an eyebrow. "Girl, we got thirty-six flavors."  
  
    "Yes, and vanilla is the one I want!" Heather snapped. "There's nothing  _wrong_ with vanilla!"  
  
    "Ooh, feisty! I like that," Finnick chuckled, filling her order. "You keep that up. We small animals have gotta keep our zest."  
  
    Heather rolled her eyes and paid for her treat, picking up the ice cream bowl and spoon and heading to a bar-stool close to the register to eat it. There weren't many other small-sized customers to serve, so Finnick ended up glancing over at Heather every now and again.  
  
    The stoat reflected over her life at Zootopia University. She couldn't really complain. She'd easily placed onto their Female Mustelid Pawball Association team. Though it was just the college level, she was determined to give it her all. She was intensely aggressive in her play style, and often ended up scoring the most goals on her team. Stoats were rather infamous among mustelids for their temperament, but Heather's exuberance on the field stood out even among her contemporaries. Her practice doing physical "tricks" with her friends in her youth led her to develop some unique kicks that she showed off every now and again. She gave a grin into her ice cream dish as she allowed herself a secret thought about how good she was. Finnick caught this grin, and realization slowly grew over his face.  
  
    "Oh! I recognize you," Finnick grinned, snapping his fingers and pointing at her. "You play pawball, don't you?"  
  
    Heather cocked an eyebrow, looking with disbelief at Finnick after swallowing a bite of ice cream. "You watch the college Female Mustelid Pawball Association? That's a bit of a niche pick."  
  
    "Young mustelid females are about the feistiest group of mammals you could ever watch when it comes to sports," Finnick chuckled.  
  
    "Wow, okay!" Heather narrowed her eyes, grimacing. "Please stop talking to me, old creepy fennec."  
  
    "Hey, I ain't old, I'm middle-aged," Finnick insisted, starting to rinse and clean some ice cream dishes. "You're Heather Mine?"  
  
    Heather sighed. "Yes. And you're not getting my autograph unless you want me to write it on your forehead with this ice cream."  
  
    "Yo, you paid for it, you do whatever you want," Finnick grinned.  
  
    "Why are you so irritating?" Heather snapped.  
  
    "Cause I finally got what I wanted out of life," Finnick chuckled. "A steady job, servin' treats. My own ice cream joint. Nice an' easy life for ol' Finnick from here on out."  
  
    "Your dream was to be a soda jerk?" Heather seemed confused.  
  
    "No doubt; I had the jerk part down early," Finnick winked with a toothy grin. "And it's like you said. Ain't nothin' wrong with vanilla, even if that's yo' passion. Course, if I could kick a ball like you can, maybe I'd be singin' a different tune."  
  
    "Hm..." Heather looked contemplative.  
  
    "What's the matter?" Finnick tilted his head. "You ain't like havin' a full scholarship and bein' the best striker in the whole association?"  
  
    "No, that's fine, I just wonder if it'll carry over to the pros," Heather winced, looking unsure. "The mustelids there all seem even crazier than I can get."  
  
    "Oh, is that all you're worried about?" Finnick laughed again. "You'll be fine. And boy, the money those pro pawball players make..." Finnick raised his eyes to the ceiling, shaking his head with a serene smile.  
  
    "Sometimes... I did wonder if it was my dream or not," Heather suddenly admitted.  
  
    "Whatchoo mean?" Finnick replied.  
  
    "Well, my dad, Roger Mine, used to be a pro pawball player," Heather shrugged, taking another bite of ice cream. "I feel like I'm just following his path rather than making my own, you know?"  
  
    "I getchoo," Finnick nodded, "is there somethin' you'd rather be doin'?"  
  
    "That's the thing," Heather tapped her spoon on the dish. "I... don't really think so? I don't really have a drive for anything else. And, well, I am pretty good at pawball..."  
  
    "Those dances you do when you score a goal ain't bad, either," Finnick chuckled.  
  
    "Oh, heh, those, learned those from a good friend," Heather had a small, but toothy grin.  
  
    "They your significant other?" Finnick flashed a smile.  
  
    "Oh no, she's spoken for," Heather shook her head.  
  
    "Ah, into the ladies, then?" Finnick gave a deep chuckle.  
  
    "What? No!" Heather threw her spoon down. "Is it just because I'm into sports and have kinda a husky voice...?"  
  
    "Uh, no, I ain't said anything was wrong with that, anyway, girl, chill!" Finnick laughed even harder. "You got a boyfriend, then?"  
  
    "There's barely any time for that," Heather shook her head. "Dunno how much I really want one, anyway. The mustelids that come after me are all trying too hard to impress me with how cool or  _male_ they are. I kinda want one that I can be tough on, you know? Maybe a little sweet, smart. ...Oh fluff me, I  _do_ just want a male version of my best friend."  
  
    Finnick cackled again. "Boy that's a shame, innit? Sure you can't 'switch teams'?"  
  
    "I don't even know why I'm talking to you," Heather tried to sound angry, but she was grinning.  
  
    "Ah, the ladies can never resist a fox," Finnick rubbed his claws on his apron. "Specially not a fennec. We're just too adorable."  
  
    "Yeah, with that voice?" Heather shook her head.  
  
    "So tell me about your friend, huh? Sounds like she's important to your story," Finnick folded his paws over the counter.  
  
    "Don't you have some sort of  _work_ you could be doing?" Heather gave him a reproving smile. She had finished her ice cream, but she was still sitting there for some reason.  
  
    "Naw, my boys got it," Finnick grinned, gesturing to his co-workers, who were all different, taller fox species than him. "Not a lot of non-foxes come into a place like this, anyway, much less random smaller animals like you."  
  
    "So you want to know about my ferret friend?" Heather folded her arms. "I'm not really great at telling stories."  
  
    "C'mon girl, I've still got a few hours left in my shift," Finnick encouraged. "Amuse me. Maybe I'll give you a free ice cream next time. Vanilla, of course."  
  
    "Yeah, if I ever come back here," Heather smirked. "Fine, I guess so."


	7. Pleasant Chemistry

    Though she felt like she might be being a little over-dramatic, Kara Pedshark found her six years of college to get her master's degree in chemical engineering to be the longest of her life. She had fallen quite deeply in love with Larry Wilde-Hopps, and to leave the squirrel behind in Zootopia and go to the prestigious college in Pawprintsteen in the northwest was one of the toughest decisions she made for her future.  
  
    The honey-and-white ferret and the gray squirrel corresponded by texts nearly constantly, and Muzzletime between two and three times a week. Despite this, the inability to be physically close to each other bothered both of them. Larry noticed he was starting to get more selfies from Kara, even without asking for them. Also, they were getting more and more risque. Larry started having to make sure he only checked his phone in private. Kara figured out that Larry particularly liked it when she'd pose while nibbling on the ends of the pink stems of her glasses. Kara enjoyed tantalizing Larry as much as he enjoyed being tantalized; he made her feel very attractive and desirable when, while she was growing up, she always thought of herself as rather plain.  
  
    Larry wasn't alone in finding Kara attractive, however. As he had predicted before they parted, she caught the eye of several mustelids during her college term. Unbeknownst to her, however, the confidence and focus she had developed within herself made others a bit nervous to actually approach her. Kara kept her focus on her classes, as she was a bit of a perfectionist, and tried to keep her grade point average paramount in her life. She also didn't get too close to any females in college, because she didn't want to let it slip that she was still in a relationship with a squirrel. She knew that would only lead to teasing.  
  
    Kara tried to make it down to Zootopia whenever she was on break. She knew that Larry's career had gotten started, so he couldn't fit a visit to Pawprintsteen into his schedule. Between her visits, their textual and vocal conversations over the phone were often filled with emotional reassurances of their love. If anyone had actually overheard or saw any of these, their tolerance for sappy romantic prose might have been tested. So when Kara finally made it back to Larry, their interactions were decidedly more physical. Though Kara knew the mixture of her geekiness and sensuality was Larry's favorite and she could often lead him by the tail to do whatever she wanted, she also quickly found out that a riled-up squirrel was a force to be reckoned with.  
  
    The ferret's ears felt hot when she got the news that Larry won his first race; she had been visiting him and left only a couple of days before that. She wondered if it was just some sort of fluke, but a definite pattern started to emerge the more times she would go to visit. She supposed it was just a rather pleasant "chemical reaction" that only she could offer him. She kind of liked that.  
  
    Larry had an incredibly powerful guilty conscience drilled into him from growing up with Judy and Nick Wilde-Hopps. Between Judy's emotional coercion, and Nick's perceptive powers, Larry could never get away with anything. Thus, he easily broke and admitted to Kara how he had rather accidentally started "dating" a squirrel from his pit crew before breaking it off, and the incident where he was harassed by a tabloid reporter. Kara found it very heartwarming how much Larry valued his devotion to her, and promised within herself that she would do her best to be worthy of that devotion.  
  
    She was tested, however, her fourth year of college. There was a very handsome, charming, and self-assured pine marten in a few of her classes by the name of Albert Parker. He was friendly with her, never rude, shared her major, and was very conversational. Also, she did admit his brown fur coloring with the copper chest fur was attractive.  
  
    Kara found herself doing something she never thought she'd do: attend a party just to see what would happen. She was offered a drink by Albert, which she refused, as she knew she was a lightweight. He accepted the rejection gracefully, and went to go talk with his buddies.  
  
    "Hey, um, hello?" A meek voice came behind her. She turned to see another ferret, a more traditionally-colored one. "I'm Sherri Ferry. We have a couple classes together? C-couldn't help but notice Albert was talking to you?"  
  
    "Yeah," Kara gave a small smile. "He seems really nice."  
  
    "Sure, 'seems'," Sherri said, her eyes not meeting Kara's. "I'm surprised you haven't heard of Albert yet. He makes a bet to get with the most unavailable-seeming mustelid every year. H-he hasn't lost yet."  
  
    "What?" Kara seemed unconvinced. "That seems like an almost comically base thing to do at such a prestigious college as this."  
  
    "Well, he's got a full scholarship and all," Sherri shrugged. "Guess he doesn't care what he's doing too much. Anyway, he likes 'morphing' himself to try to be whatever he thinks the girl wants. If he gets you, I guarantee he'll break up with you before the end of the year. He's done it three times before, after all."  
  
    "I'll admit he does seem a bit... 'perfect' for me," Kara said, worry taking root in her, "but why would you care to tell me? I haven't really been that friendly to anyone in college..."  
  
    "I uh," Sherri looked alarmed, her ears hot. "W-well, I'm kind of, uh... ah-attracted to females, so... I know you're not! B-but... you're cute and all, s-so, I just didn't want you to get hurt..." Sherri fidgeted and fumbled with her paws while she tripped over her words.  
  
    Kara gave a small smile. "Well, Sherri, you might have saved me from a huge mistake. Will you accept a friendly hug?"  
  
    "O-oh, will I ever!" Sherri giggled, hugging her quickly. Kara gratefully hugged the shy ferret; she guessed it couldn't have been easy for Sherri to admit what she did with those sort of feelings in her heart.  
  
    One of Albert's mink friends elbowed him in the ribs and jerked his head over to the two hugging ferrets. "Looks like you're barking up the wrong tree this time, Parker."  
  
    "What? Impossible," Albert narrowed one eye. "I could have sworn I almost had her. Maybe that's why she was playing so hard to get."  
  
    "Ha ha, you lose!" A stoat shoved him in a friendly manner.  
  
    "Eh, just have to find an even harder mark next year," Albert smirked. "Three out of four isn't bad."  
  
    Kara sat alone in her bed that night, feeling a bit ashamed. She had almost let a mercurial mustelid attract her when all he was after was a notch on his belt. She kept wanting to text Larry about her mistake, but she kept deleting the things she started typing. Larry must have been using his phone at the time and noticed the ellipses indicating her typing, and eventually he made the first text.  
  
    [Everything okay, Ferrety?]  
  
    It will be now, she thought to herself. She redoubled the resolution in her heart to only have her nearsighted eyes on her squirrel, someone who had cared for her through all sorts of situations, both good and bad. Kara got very close to telling him the truth, but she decided to text him another, more common truth.  
  
    [Yeah. I love you, Larry.]  
  
    [Love you too, cutie! Can't wait to see you again!]  
  
    [You can't, huh? Then just hold on a second.] Kara made sure her nightshirt was drooping off one of her shoulders and put on her best coy look as she prepared to take a selfie while nibbling on her glasses once again.  
  
    After Kara's schooling, she was able to get a job as a chemical engineer rather easily in Zootopia, to her immense relief. She had to tour the various power plants in Zootopia, making sure everything was copacetic. Her schedule was pretty busy, but she got to see Larry far more often, to her delight.  
  
    The poor gray squirrel was still quite easy for his loved ones to read, and that did not exclude Kara. The honey-and-white ferret had been quite sure that for a year or two after she got back from college that he was trying to build up the courage to pop the question. Sometimes she just wanted to bend over and grab him by the cheeks and say "marry me, you fool!" She knew, though, that he must be planning something extremely corny and romantic for her, and she couldn't wait to see whatever it was.  
  
    "Heard you took home another trophy," Kara said in a flirty voice when they got together one evening, both in a Sahara Square motel due to their schedules. "You know what that'll get you tonight..."  
  
    "Ooh," Larry grew a big grin. "My racing career is just all sorts of rewarding." The two laughed, but then Larry looked a bit introspective. "You know, it isn't fair, is it Kara? You went to school for six years and you're doing something super important for Zootopia's energy situation and no one even knows your name." Kara blinked. "Whereas I, nearly just out of high school, got a sponsorship with a detergent company, and after a few years I got a bunch of screaming fans and have had the spotlight on me and... y'know. I'm not doing anything important."  
  
    Kara came over to him and hugged him. "I don't care about any of that stuff. I only need  _one_ fan. And he's got a big... bushy... tail." Kara slowly stroked over his tail.  
  
    "You really like that thing, huh?" Larry chuckled.  
  
    "Mmhm..." Kara cooed happily.  
  
    Zootopia had at least one other inter-species couple rather similar to Larry and Kara. Just like them, one was in the public eye, and one was not. One performed a service for Zootopia's continued health, and one just performed for fans.


	8. Snow Puffs

    Karen Skippel was happy for her stable job as Lead Technical Officer at precinct one, though she admitted to herself that she could have done less with some of the drama it took to get her there. As the second bunny on the ZPD, she had unavoidably been compared, rather unfavorably, to Judy Hopps. Karen's skill was with computers, and she lacked both the courage and raw physical ability of her counterpart. As an arctic hare with no siblings, the big space in her brain that would have been devoted to learning hundreds of siblings' names and personalities was barren, and eager for some sort of information.  
  
    So, Karen got into computers, data analysis, and pattern recognition, and had some hacking skills, as well. Left idle, she might easily have been tempted to use her skills for selfish, criminal gain. However, her father Harold sensed that she might become a misanthrope. He explained to her that in Zootopia, there are so many mammals that want to do things for selfish gain, and it takes a truly special animal to be selfless. Karen thought this was pretty hokey, until she reflected that her father had given up a lot to help raise her correctly following the death of his wife during her childbirth. He also never remarried, showing his devotion was to his daughter and his wife's memory. Karen decided she'd try to use her powers for "good".  
  
    Of all the places to end up, the same precinct with Judy Hopps was  _not_ what Karen had wanted. Karen was reserved, quiet, blunt, and came from a small family, and basically none of that was true about Judy. Karen resented when Judy wanted to make friends with her just because they were both lapine. But a dangerous case or two later, Karen started letting her guard down and letting Judy into her life, a bit at a time.  
  
    Ironically, each time she let her defenses down around Judy, her life started getting better, bit by bit.  
  
    Her social skills were lacking and what sort of mammal she might be attracted to was a mystery, even to her. Karen was also traumatized by one dangerous case she was a part of. She suffered nightmares and panic attacks from her near death experience and physical and mental torture. Letting Judy in again also caused Nick Wilde to get involved, a fox whom Karen liked even less than Judy due to his self-assured and cocky nature, but, there they went again and made her life better.  
  
    She was introduced to Crystal Lumi, an exuberant female snow leopard who ended up being everything she wanted in a partner. Crystal was vivacious, friendly, playful, cuddly, and she could make winsome purring chirps. Karen found that this was the first time she felt this way about anyone, and quickly let Crystal know that she didn't want to lose her.  
  
    For Crystal's part, she had always been attracted to small prey girls. She loved the idea of scooping them up in her arms and giving them protective hugs. Crystal's passion was acting, and she toured in a mildly successful theater troupe before being discovered by chance to star in a movie. The movie was Infection: K9, a loose retelling of the Canine Virus that had swept across Zootopia, and that Karen coincidentally had a part in helping stop.  
  
    Crystal's portrayal of the villain was both praised and panned as being bombastic, hammy, and maybe even overacted. However, there was no doubt that she had great control over her emotions and facial expressions, and she was signed on for several other movies, nearly one a year. Because of her acting style, she was typecast into comedies and other frivolous "joke" characters, because none of her directors thought she could act seriously. She even tried some voice acting, but it was always exuberant, loud characters.  
  
    Between takes on one set, Crystal got a call from Karen; she knew she wouldn't call unless it was important. Right when they were ready to start the take, Crystal apologized and excused herself. Her director, a Thompson's gazelle, angrily followed her to instruct her that they were filming at this particular hour for a reason.  
  
    "Oh, what's the matter, sweetie?" Crystal said worriedly into her phone. "I know, honey, I know. I wish you didn't have to work on something so frightening while I'm away... I'll give you extra hugs and cuddles when I get home, okay? ...Okay, be sure to hug that full-size snow leopard plushie I got for you, okay? Cuddle it to sleep. ...No, it's not stupid! I hugged it to put extra love and care into it just for you, so don't waste it... Hmhm, love you, sweetheart, take care of yourself, and I'll see you soon."  
  
    The director raised an eyebrow. He had no idea if Crystal was talking to her mate or her child, but the depth in Crystal's emotion and facial expressions was apparent, even over a voice-only call. He decided to file this in the back of his mind and call upon her the next time he had a romantic comedy to film, and decided to let Crystal try a role as the leading lady. She did quite well.  
  
    Karen always did watch Crystal's movies, every single one, some multiple times. Even though she knew Crystal was acting, Karen still covered her eyes with her ears when Crystal had to act romantic and smooch with other mammals in her movies.  
  
    Crystal never revealed to anyone that she was in love with an arctic hare. This was a protection for both of them; she knew Karen would not fare well if accosted by paparazzi, and might even fall into a panic. Crystal also was growing uneasy at some steadily growing movements that were speaking out against pred/prey relationships, and Crystal didn't want any reproach to come onto either of them.  
  
    There was a citizen of Zootopia even more marginalized than a predator and prey relationship. She had a love for the world, and especially Zootopia, but was starting to have a hard time seeing that love return to her. Though she wore a pleasant expression, her heart often ached at how hateful the world could be.


	9. A Zootopian "Lizard"

    Life wasn't easy for Jhi Jhi, who just shortened her full name to Jiji. She was aware that she made her own difficulties. She was a leopard gecko, hatched in the reptilian island nation of Pawaii. Her passion was to become a massage therapist, and she lived through a difficult political time in her country. Larger reptiles were being restricted from travel and were mandated to wear collars that limited their bite strength and how far they could open their snouts, or else face an electric shock.  
  
    Such mandates were made by the "Lizard" party, a numerous and loud group of small reptiles that spread a campaign of fear and hatred across Pawaii. Jiji did not agree with their views, as she knew many kind "Snappers", as large reptiles were called. She thought it unfair especially that several snakes she knew had to wear the collars whereas other, smaller snakes were exempt.   
  
    Finally though, the Lizard party made a grave error in restricting travel to Zootopia, who at the time was governed by Vince Mousawitz of the new-age party. To send a message, Vince restricted travel to Pawaii and encouraged other areas to follow suit, and surprisingly enough, they did. Pawaii's prosperity largely consisted of tourism and trade, and their economy threatened to buckle under the sanctions. This gave rise to a more moderate political party, the Snappers, and they managed to end the oppression wrought against them.  
  
    This suited Jiji just fine, as she loved mammals. She loved the interesting softness and textures and patterns of their fur. In fact, her peers often made fun of her for this, calling her a "mammalphile" and the like. Jiji eventually dreamed of moving to Zootpia, where she knew "anyone could be anything".  
  
    That turned out to be more of a slogan, really.  
  
    She moved in next-door to Nick and Judy Wilde-Hopps, and became fast friends with the two. The first worry was when she lost her tail after it was stepped on in a crowded street and no one moved to help her, but rather reacted with shock. The only sympathy came from the Wilde-Hopps family. Though her tail grew back, a regrown tail wasn't seen as an attractive feature for a leopard gecko to have.   
  
    Rather than be a massage therapist, she found the only job she could get was at a restaurant that wanted to employ genuine Pawaiians, of which there were precious few in Zootopia. Jiji was rather popular there, and work became almost a safe haven for her.  
  
    It seemed like ninety percent of Zootopia didn't even know what Jiji was. She was often disparagingly called a "lizard" by mammals, and many had little patience for her mediocre mammalian reading skills or her idiosyncrasies when she was talking in mammalian.   
  
    Though leopard geckos were known for their resting face being a smile, Jiji had to admit to the Wilde-Hopps that on occasion she no longer felt like smiling. She loved mammals, and Zootopia, but she was finding the love wasn't returning to her. She felt almost panicked when Nick and Judy eventually had to move out of their Aardvark Rise apartment due to changing life circumstances, but she still had Larry Wilde-Hopps living there, and he was a steadfast friend for her.  
  
    Eventually, she got a part time job at a massage parlor that had several different types of "exotic" paw, claw, and hoof massages on offer. It was barely even a job, as Jiji's hands were in so low demand that she actually had to be called in to work. She did love massaging though, and enjoyed her waitress job well enough, so she took her happiness where she could find it.  
  
    With a lot of love and hope in her heart, Jiji often dreamed about being in a relationship with a raccoon, red panda, or some sort of other animal with interesting fur patterns. Reality set down hard on her though, when even as she added her information to a bunch of dating services, she was thrown a lot of hateful messages for daring to be a reptile that asked for a mammal mate. She did find an interested raccoon once, but quickly found out that just because a male had an interest in reptiles, didn't mean he was a kind mammal. She quickly abandoned the online dating scene and deleted her profiles, wishing no more hateful messages.  
  
    A few years after she had given up on a relationship, she found her smile tended to wane more and more, even on her jobs, though it did kick back up when she could see any of the Wilde-Hopps. She was finally an official citizen of Zootopia, not that any mammal really cared about that. Jiji began to notice a striped polecat named Frederick Vault who began to ask for massages from her and only her. He was somewhat shy and asked a lot of questions about Jiji and Pawaii. She in return didn't get much from him other than that he was a marine biologist.   
  
    As it turned out, Frederick, or just "Freddie", found Jiji attractive, especially her reptilian-accented voice. Jiji had to admit Freddie was nice too, especially his black and white striped fur which she inwardly found incredibly appealing. Freddie eventually moved in with Jiji into her apartment. There was no provision for a mammal and reptile to get married, but nevertheless, both were happy. Freddie had to admit though, that when it was time for her to shed her skin, that made him feel quite uncomfortable. She did look much more colorful right after, though.  
  
    Freddie took business trips to Pawaii for his research on occasion, and he even more occasionally got to take Jiji with him to go scuba diving in Pawaii's waters. Because of this, Jiji had to make sure that she kept an eye on the political scene of Pawaii, which seemed just as volatile as the one in Zootopia, with it's growing unrest against predator/prey relationships.  
  
    After awhile of being in power, the Snappers had started to put on airs and one notorious figure even tried to get "revenge" against the Lizard party by trying to put reproductive limits on smaller reptiles, claiming they were overpopulating Pawaii. This made Jiji uneasy; she found politics repugnant, and wished that people would just live their lives in peace without disturbing others. The Lizard party came back into power when the Snappers' proposals were defeated, and Jiji hoped she wouldn't live to see another distressing political event in Pawaii.  
  
    Despite her aversion to politics, Jiji often found herself reading about them anyway, trying to keep appraised of the situations in Pawaii, Zootopia, and even Bunnyburrow. Bunnyburrow was seeing a strong push by the new-age party to get many bunnies "fixed". Jiji always found herself more interested, however, in the more personal stories she could find in the Bunnyburrow family, especially about the Hopps. It turned out that her friend Judy had quite a large family, and she loved learning about them.


	10. The Hopps Fluffle

    The Hopps family was still a mighty "army". Both Stu and Bonnie Hopps were enjoying their twilight years in relative comfort. Stu had developed a chronic cough and grew tired very easily, but he was still kicking, and still enjoying spending time relaxing with his family. Though Bonnie was stubborn and disliked giving up so much control to the other does of the house, she eventually conceded and took up knitting.   
  
    Ivory Hopps overcame her hatred of predators, Nick included. Unable to find work as a model anymore because of the new-age party, and disagreeing with the tenants of the traditionalist party, Ivory decided to stay out of political debates and just keep her head down and be a family doe. As the only albino in the Hopps family, she was a distinctive and rather stern figure to the little kits of the Hopps compound.  
  
    Jenny Hopps was still living in Zootopia, a part of the Zootopia Fire Department. She saved the eventual love of her life from a burning building, a slightly chubby tuxedo-colored bunny male who quite literally fell for her and into the trampoline she and a few other fire fighters were carrying.  
  
    Jayce Hopps owned the Hopps farm, officially. He spent his time dealing with all the logistics of the slowly expanding empire, and had little time for romance. Despite this, he was still a pleasant buck to be around, and had a very dry wit. Nick Wilde-Hopps often called him an "honorary fox".  
  
    Galaxy Hopps was in college at the time. The incident more than ten years ago at the farm involving Larry had concerned her greatly. She was upset at the implications of group psychology on bunnies, and decided to go into psychology herself. She was studying to be a therapist. Galaxy often gave free "practice sessions" to Larry Wilde-Hopps over Muzzletime when he needed them, as he had his stresses, and Galaxy was one of his bigger fans and closer friends.  
  
    Nebula Hopps was still rather enigmatic. His strange, loquacious way of speaking made him few friends, but he developed a very precise way of doing things. He ended up going to school to become an architect. Though, oddly, he also tried his paw at stand-up comedy, where his extremely dull voice mixed with his abstract way of pointing out obvious things with large words actually was a minor sensation among bunnies. Little did any of them know that Nebula's "act" was barely an act, it was just how he was.  
  
    Nova Hopps had some soul-searching to do. When he led a group of bunnies in a dangerous prank against Larry, he knew it was wrong, but he had to admit he loved the power of being a leader. Was he just an "evil bunny"? He decided he should become a politician, and took classes in school to build up his skills for this. Nova was already making plans for when, not if, he would become mayor of Bunnyburrow. He didn't actually have strong political views, but he figured as the name "Nova" could mean new, he might as well join the new-age party. Though his scruples were low, he was very charismatic, and for better or worse, the future of Bunnyburrow might eventually be in his paws.  
  
    Lily Hopps had an affinity for her camera, and taking pictures. She wanted to travel the world and become the photographer for a famous magazine, but currently she was "stuck" with a local gardening magazine, so she ended up taking a lot of pictures of flowers. Her workmates, of course, teased her relentlessly about her name in regards to this.  
  
    Rose Hopps, similarly, became an actual gardener, or more accurately, a landscaper. She was known as one of the sweetest Hopps there were, but when it came to her job she was extremely serious. Her assistants knew to never question her final decisions, and thought the sweet, airy voice she put on when her family called was just, well, a "rose hiding thorns".  
  
    Aster Hopps, instead, became an astronomer. He was always into rather geeky and nerdy stuff, and was good with math. His brothers and sisters often teased him about his career choice, but he didn't mind. He did not, however, suffer any jokes about the seventh planet of the solar system. Those were met with a swift kick in the tail.  
  
    Clarissa Hopps, though still young, dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. She actually was still hung up on small, tiny dresses and outfits, as she thought they were adorable. She hoped to one day become a star in the world of rodent and mustelid fashion.  
  
    Peaches and Cream Hopps were still among the most terrifying sheriffs in Bunnyburrow. But at home, Peter and Carol Hopps were always laughing and joking around with each other and their siblings. The Hopps knew their tough-bun personas were just an act, but no one else did; they didn't let a shred of their levity reach the Sheriff's Department.   
  
    Of course, no discussion of the Hopps would be complete without Judy Wilde-Hopps, and her husband Nick Wilde-Hopps. Their lives had been changing rapidly, and both of them hoped it would eventually be for the better.


	11. The Bunny and Fox

    The years after Larry Wilde-Hopps' graduation had come fast and hard for Nick and Judy Wilde-Hopps. Once Chief Bogo stepped down as the head of precinct one, the new Chief, a hippo named Hugh Mongus, cultivated an almost eerie interest in Judy's career path. She found herself promoted very quickly over the next couple of years and before she knew it, she became a Chief of a precinct in the Rainforest District.  
  
    Just like that, Nick and Judy were no longer professional partners.  
  
    Even though the mammals at her Rainforest District precinct were on average smaller than the ones at precinct one, Judy still felt like she'd have a bit of a hard time engendering respect as Chief. She adopted a tough persona and quickly got a reputation as being pretty terrifying, for a bunny. Some of the rookies even called her "Chief Hardbuns", which she often overheard with her ears, and had to fight not to smile when she did. It didn't take too long before she had the respect of her officers at her precinct. She was always sure to praise outstanding behavior and to try to never underestimate any mammal based on their appearance or personality. Judy made some risky calls and decisions at times, but more often than not, they tended to bear fruit.  
  
    Back at precinct one, Nick's new partner was a kit fox; a vulpes macrotis. He wasn't a "kit", though he was quite a newbie compared to Nick. Though Nick was glad enough to see a fellow fox on the force, he just didn't mesh well with him. Also, Nick had become increasingly agitated by the tensions that were steadily rising between predator and prey. Vince Mousawitz, a member of the new-age mammal party, had stepped down as mayor and was replaced by a pig, Pearline Swinton, who was decidedly traditionalist. She was campaigning hard to put a stop to inter-species marriage, and with Leodore Lionheart no longer in the legislative branch of City Hall, it looked like she would eventually get her way. His hand forced, Larry Wilde-Hopps, a squirrel, married his girlfriend, Kara, a ferret, before it was too late. Their wedding was nice enough, but Judy couldn't help but wonder if it would have been nicer if it weren't rushed.  
  
    There were protests and rallies, but Nick had decided he had enough of just watching from inside the ZPD. He turned in his badge.  
  
    Nick became a pro-pred/prey activist, using his charisma and his way with words in what he hoped would improve Zootopia and cultivate understanding. He felt that Zootopia that had given him so much, and was in danger of falling back into fear again, the same fear it had decades ago. Of course, his suddenly outspoken position instantly made him all sorts of enemies, from the petty to the powerful. But, Zootopia had given Nick a small army of friends over the years, as well. With his mother in a hospice and her time left uncertain, Nick decided he had only one course of action to better Zootopia and to defeat Swinton. He would have to run for mayor in the upcoming election.  
  
    From the ZPD, Nick could count on large numbers of security support at his speeches. Chief Wilde-Hopps was always sure to nearly over-deploy, not wanting to take any chances with her husband.  
  
    From the ZIA, several crooked cops and other rogues from assorted government departments seeking Nick's downfall were taken care of. Nick rarely ever saw her, but he knew his fruit bat friend, Viridia Sonaire, was looking out for him. He recognized her psuedo-sonar clicking from the darkness even he could barely see into.  
  
    From the ZBI, another agent who seemed to have a mysterious, vested interest in Nick's success had taken down a few extremist operations that targeted Nick. Of course, it was a bunny, a white bunny with almost tiger-like black stripes and cyan eyes, and his name was Jack Savage.   
  
    From the shadows, the Big family also had his back, though they tried not to help in any way that could be directly tied to him. Little Miss Big still felt a debt to the husband of her godmother, and protected Nick in any way she thought she could get away with.   
  
    Nick took off his coat, hat, and tie as he got into his home, which used to be his mother's old Rainforest District house. He smiled as he saw Judy cheering at the television over one of Larry's races.  
  
    "Ooh, second, so close!" Judy laughed, then looked at Nick. "You look tired. Long day on the campaign trail?"  
  
    "Mhm," Nick said, going over and kissing Judy softly.  
  
    "Nick, do you resent me for staying with the ZPD?" Judy tilted her head.  
  
    "No way, that's your dream, Judy," Nick shook his head, "and  _someone_ has to keep the ZPD pure while I'm trying to oust that vile swine."  
  
    "You're calling  _me_ a pure cop?" Judy smirked, then shrugged flippantly. "Okay, fair enough." But then, her expression fell. "Nick, every day you put up with several times the hatred and animosity than you ever did when we were both beat cops. How do you keep going?"  
  
    "You're going to call me a cheese ball if I tell you," Nick smirked.   
  
    "Aw, c'mon, cheese ball!" Judy grinned widely.  
  
    "Okay, if you're going to be like that," Nick flicked one of her ears. "I'm doing it out of love. Love for you, the bunny who's been my constant companion and pulled me out of the blackness of despair. Love for my son, who shouldn't be afraid to show that he loves his wife in public. Love for Zootopia, the city who's given me everything I have, though we did have to ask it really nicely. And... love for my mother, who always believed in me and was proud of me, no matter what. Who knows how much time she has left? I gotta keep going."  
  
    "Aw, Nick, that  _is_ really sweet," Judy smiled, and then her eyes half-lid. "But you know, there's never been a fox mayor in Zootopia. Ever."  
  
    "Guess I'll just have to be the first, then," Nick grinned smugly, retrieving an acoustic guitar from the closet.  
  
    "Ooh, are you going to croon at me, you handsome fox?" Judy turned around in the couch and stood up, folding her arms across the back of the couch. Nick came around and sat next to her, and she sat down too.  
  
    "Thought I could just try singing a song I know from growing up," Nick said, tuning the guitar.  
  
    "Is it one of Gazelle's?" Judy asked hopefully.  
  
    "Before her, actually, one of the very first celebrity pred/prey activists," Nick reminisced. "He was a bit of a goofball, a dingo that called himself Powerline. You may have heard me singing this in the shower a few times." Nick started to strum the introduction.  
  
    "Oh yeah!" Judy snapped her fingers. "You hum and sing this so often in the shower that I think even I know the words by now."  
  
    "Why don't we sing it together, then?" Nick chuckled. "I'll go first."  
  
    Nick began singing:  
 _"Got myself a notion,_  
 _one I know that you'll understand,_  
 _to set the world in motion,_  
 _by reaching out for each others hand."_  
  
    Judy smiled, continuing:  
 _"Maybe we'll discover_  
 _what we should've known all along,_  
 _one way or another,_  
 _together's where we both belong."_  
  
    They joined their voices together for the chorus:  
 _"If we listen to each others heart,_  
 _we'll find we're never too far apart,_  
 _and maybe love is the reason why,_  
 _for the first time ever we're seeing it eye to eye."_  
  
    "Oh, I  _have_ to sing the next part!" Judy quickly insisted, and Nick just smirked as she sang:  
 _"If a wall should come between us,_  
 _too high to climb, too hard to break through,_  
 _I know that love will lead us,_  
 _and find a way to bring me to you."_  
  
    Nick followed up:  
 _"So don't be in a hurry,_  
 _think before you count us out,_  
 _You don't have to worry,_  
 _I won't ever let you down."_  
  
    The two tried to start the chorus up again, but they began laughing as if they were kits again, even though their eyes were misting up a bit. Nick set the guitar aside, and Judy climbed into his lap, facing him.  
  
    "If you're ever lonely," Judy said gently in a pleasant, though non-singing voice, "Stop. You don't need to be. Because Nick, you'll  _never_ need to be lonely. I'll always be your partner."  
  
    Judy gave her fox a soft, lingering kiss. Nick returned it, wrapping his arms around his bunny.  
  
    The bunny was also correct. She and the fox were, indeed, always partners.


End file.
